India suffered a shock defeat in the opening T20I match of the five-game series against West Indies on Thursday, which had marked the beginning of the team's preparations for the T20 World Cup next year. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the Hardik Pandya-led side succumbed to a four-run loss after failing to chase down 150 despite debutant Tilak Varma scoring a impressive 22-ball 39. The Men in Blue hence will be hoping to make a comeback in the second match and level the series.
As India eye revenge in Guyana, captain Hardik will have his sights on a personal milestone. The all-rounder had been absent from his bowling duties between 2020 and start of 2022 owing his long-standing struggle with back injuries. But since making a remarkable return in white-ball cricket through the 2022 IPL season, Hardik did not just make the Indian team again as an all-rounder, but also was elevated to the role of a captain with experts now backing him to take over the role in limited-overs cricket after 2023 ODI World Cup succeeding Rohit.
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In 77 appearances so far for India, Hardik has picked 70 wickets in the T20I format, sitting fifth in the position among Indian bowlers with Yuzvendra Chahal leading the proceedings. The leg-spinner has 93 wickets in 76 matches, followed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who picked 90 wickets in 87 appearances.
{{/usCountry}}In 77 appearances so far for India, Hardik has picked 70 wickets in the T20I format, sitting fifth in the position among Indian bowlers with Yuzvendra Chahal leading the proceedings. The leg-spinner has 93 wickets in 76 matches, followed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who picked 90 wickets in 87 appearances.
{{/usCountry}}If Hardik manages to have an impact as a bowler in the second match against West Indies, he will not only surpass Jasprit Bumrah, but also will go past Ravichandran Ashwin in the wicket-taking charts for India in T20I cricket. Hardik will need to pick three or more wickets to surpass Bumrah (70 wickets in 60 matches) and Ashwin (72 wickets in 65 matches) to stand third among India bowlers.
If not the second T20I, Hardik will have three more chances to consolidate his position in the chart and probably made a bid towards surpassing Bhuvneshwar as well as Bumrah continues to remain absent from international cricket.
The star fast bowler is however set to be back in India's next limited-overs assignment - a three-match T20I series against Ireland which will begin from August 18 onwards in Malahide, Dublin. Bumrah will be leading a second-string Indian side in the absence of all the big-name players which includes Rohit, Kohli, Hardik, Chahal, Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill. The only players to join Bumrah in the Ireland tour from the West Indies T20I series are Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar.